Parents Charged in Accidental Child Shootings
A rash of child shootings in Atlanta’s metro area, including six deaths in which the children unintentionally shot themselves have resulted in criminal charges against parents or guardians. In one suburban county, authorities have banned backpacks to prevent students from bringing weapons to school.
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A rash of child shootings in Atlanta’s metro area, including six deaths in which the children unintentionally shot themselves, has raised questions over who should be charged in these cases and why, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Six of the unintentional cases have resulted in criminal charges: parents or guardians are charged in five cases with second-degree child cruelty or second-degree murder, and a 16-year-old is charged in a sixth case.
A 2017 investigation found that while almost all deaths involve the same circumstances — an unsecured, loaded gun left within reach of an unsupervised child — questions over whether to prosecute are answered haphazardly. In many cases, the decision to file charges boils down to whether investigators can prove criminal negligence — whether an adult was aware or should have been aware of a gun being in the area and did nothing to keep it out of the reach of children. Meanwhile, in Clayton County, the Journal also reported, parents and educators praised a plan to ban the use of backpacks and lockers for the remainder of the school year to keep guns out of schools, but argued that more needs to be done.
